Quotes of the day

posted at 8:01 pm on July 20, 2012 by Erika Johnsen

An eager audience forgoing sleep to take in the midnight showing of “The Dark Knight Rises” instead were witnesses Friday to a bloody mass shooting at a suburban Denver movie theater. Police said a man clad in black threw a canister that spewed smoke before he opened fire. Witnesses said that at first, they thought it was a prank or a stunt. Then the gunman shot steadily at the audience, not speaking.

***

The man suspected in the mass shooting at an Aurora, Colorado, movie theater screening of the new Batman film early Friday had colored his hair red and told police he was “the Joker,” according to a federal law enforcement source with detailed knowledge of the investigation.

…Witnesses to the shooting described him as wearing a gas mask that concealed much of his face and head. But the federal law enforcement source’s information about the suspect’s appearance fits with a statement from New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly, who was briefed by Colorado authorities Friday. …

Police say Holmes, 24, dressed head-to-toe in protective tactical gear, set off two devices of some kind before spraying the theater with bullets from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one of two .40-caliber handguns police recovered at the scene.

***

Jordan told the paper that one girl was struck in cheek, others in stomach including a girl who looked to be around 9-years-old. …

“Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming,” he told the station. …

The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children’s Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn’t known.

***

Now, even as we learn how this happened and who’s responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living. The people we lost in Aurora loved, and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers; they were husbands and wives; sisters and brothers; sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future, and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.

And if there’s anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited, and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another.

***

“Our hearts break with the sadness of this unspeakable tragedy,” Romney said, according to a rush transcript. “Ann and I join the president and first lady and all Americans in offering our deepest condolences for those whose lives were shattered in a few moments, a few moments of evil, in Colorado. I stand before you today not as a man running for office but as a father and grandfather, a husband, an American. This is a time for each of us to look into our hearts and remember how much we love one another and how much we love and how much we care for our great country. There’s so much love and goodness in the heart of America.”

***

The telegenic schoolmarms we call pundits are all denouncing the politicization of the tragedy in Aurora, calling out the crass opportunists who would dare to use human suffering to advance their preferred public policy choices. I feel terrible about what happened in that movie theater, and I’m agnostic about gun control, but there is nothing wrong with politicizing tragedy.

The talking heads don’t like it, because they think of politics as a silly game about who sang out of tune and whose words can be used against them and whose surrogate undercut whose message, but politics is about life and death and human suffering. At least that’s what it should be about. …

…But politics matters, because policies matter. “Obamacare” and “gay marriage” are not just issues that might play badly with swing voters or turn the tide in Virginia; they’re issues that affect people’s lives. Gun control and the Second Amendment are issues, too, and now seems like a pretty good time to talk about them.

***

***

“Soothing words are nice,” Bloomberg said during a regularly scheduled appearance on WOR 710 AM in New York. “But maybe it’s time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says, ‘Isn’t it tragic?’”

“I mean, there’s so many murders with guns every day,” Bloomberg continued. “It’s just gotta stop. And instead of these two people, President [Barack] Obama and Governor [Mitt] Romney talking in broad things about, they want to make the world a better place. OK, tell us how. And this is a problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them, concretely, not just in generalities, specifically, what are they going to do about guns?”

***

The only fitting response to a terrible crime like this is silence or prayer. The idea that acts of mass murder reflect Hollywood violence is absurd; you can’t get more violent than King Lear. It’s true that guns are more convenient than hatchets as mass-murder weapons; they are also more convenient for self-defense. Defense and attack are generally on par in the long blood-stain of human history, and this is the wrong moment for political agitation for or against gun control. (If such laws really did “control” guns it might be different. But as matters stand, if we outlaw guns, we had better outlaw crime also.) A whole generation has been reared, in many parts of society, without the moral compass of biblical religion. Does that make any difference to the rate of violent crime? I don’t know and, again, this is the wrong moment to argue about it. In human life, savagery is a given. God knows we all wish it weren’t.

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There is a price to pay for living in a country with the degree of freedom and liberty we have in the USA. Sometimes, the price is not what we want to pay. But the alternative is living in a country like the USSR, Cuba, or China.

Now, even as we learn how this happened and who’s responsible, we may never understand what leads anybody to terrorize their fellow human beings like this. Such violence, such evil is senseless. It’s beyond reason. But while we will never know fully what causes somebody to take the life of another, we do know what makes life worth living. The people we lost in Aurora loved, and they were loved. They were mothers and fathers; they were husbands and wives; sisters and brothers; sons and daughters, friends and neighbors. They had hopes for the future, and they had dreams that were not yet fulfilled.

And if there’s anything to take away from this tragedy, it’s the reminder that life is very fragile. Our time here is limited, and it is precious. And what matters at the end of the day is not the small things, it’s not the trivial things, which so often consume us and our daily lives. Ultimately, it’s how we choose to treat one another and how we love one another.

Hey Piers, you can always jump a plane back to Jolly ole England, obtw take Nanny Bloomberg with you!

Kjeil on July 20, 2012 at 8:06 PM

Of course that’s going to be the response from the English given the near absence of gun violence in the UK (outside of Ireland).
You can’t simply ban guns in the US and wipe out gun violence- that would take a generation or longer.

Of course that’s going to be the response from the English given the near absence of gun violence in the UK (outside of Ireland).
You can’t simply ban guns in the US and wipe out gun violence- that would take a generation or longer.

bayam on July 20, 2012 at 8:13 PM

Yeah, my damn .40 cal and .45 Kimber keep trying to shoot me, but I’m very, very crafty.
You would have to wipe out the criminals, thugs, and misfits that feel that shooting people is the answer.
Idiot.

Remember always, when they talk about banning sodas, cigarettes, fatty foods, sugary foods, salty foods, drugs, guns… freedom is worth something, actually freedom is worth A LOT. This country was founded for freedom.

The guy must have made some statements to the police. How come they are not giving that info out? Possibly even a diary or other writings. All this media coverage and very little actual facts. Way to go, you MSM hacks…

“Soothing words are nice,” Bloomberg said during a regularly scheduled appearance on WOR 710 AM in New York. “But maybe it’s time the two people who want to be president of the United States stand up and tell us what they’re going to do about it, because this is obviously a problem across the country. And everybody always says, ‘Isn’t it tragic?’”

I didnt vote for Bloomberg however he is absolutely correct here.

The NRA along with big corrupt business has hijacked our democracy. Our elected officials are scared to death of these two anti American infiltrators. May God help us all.

Of course that’s going to be the response from the English given the near absence of gun violence in the UK (outside of Ireland).
You can’t simply ban guns in the US and wipe out gun violence- that would take a generation or longer.

Obama has surged ahead in both Gallup and Rasmussen. Are the Bain attacks and the tax returns issue having an effect?

gumbyandpokey on July 20, 2012 at 8:23 PM

Both are within the margin of error. It’s just statistical noise. Romney’s done well for someone who hasn’t spent as much as Obama. It’s still a dead-heat and he’s kept his powder dry for the finale, just like the primaries.

Wait till after Labor Day and then we’ll see. Most voters aren’t paying attention right now.

An analysis of the voters not committed to either candidate shows two distinguishing characteristics: They aren’t impressed with the president, and they aren’t paying much attention to the campaign.Just 29% approve of the president’s performance, while 66% disapprove. Eleven percent (11%) of the uncommitted voters believe the country is heading in the right direction, and only 13% are closely following the campaign.

The guy must have made some statements to the police. How come they are not giving that info out? Possibly even a diary or other writings. All this media coverage and very little actual facts. Way to go, you MSM hacks…

Blake on July 20, 2012 at 8:21 PM

The LSM is too busy sifting through Facebook and other social media, desperately trying to tie this guy to the Tea Party and exonerate Brian Ross.

There will be another Obama arena Tucson/Columbine Memorial II for the victims, Obama 2012 t-shirts hanging on the back of each chair, awaiting their occupant. Obama will relate, “I just came back from the hospital where I visited with Selma, a critically injured girl in a coma, when suddenly she opened her eyes for the first time. (roaring applause and Obama pausing to prolong the effect) Yes, she opened her eyes for the first time! And then she said, with great effort, ‘Don’t let them sell guns Mr. President.’ Well, I’m here to say to little Selma, SELMA, I WON”T FAIL YOU! SELMA, WE WON’T FAIL YOU! WE WON’T FAIL YOU!”

Crowd chants….”WE WON’T FAIL YOU! WE WON’T FAIL YOU! WE WON’T FAIL YOU! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS! FOUR MORE YEARS!”

I didnt vote for Bloomberg however he is absolutely correct here. The NRA along with big corrupt business has hijacked our democracy. Our elected officials are scared to death of these two anti American infiltrators. May God help us all. Uppereastside on July 20, 2012 at 8:23 PM

A. You’re a tird.
B. You don’t know God. So keep His name outa your mouth.
C. That would be “have” not “has,” genius.
D. Defending the 2nd Amendment against you and your ilk is anti-American? Please elaborate.
E. The US are a republic, not a Democracy.
F. Please name a big corrupt business aside from Solyndra.

Or we are nothing. Every time a murder happens, the media smears the Tea Party.

If we stand together, we can stop this.

faraway on July 20, 2012 at 8:11 PM

I’ve done this already, through their website contact info. I hope others will do the same.

Then, I hope that the man that ABC tried to smear sues them. Don’t settle, either. Take them to court. Yell your contempt to their lies from every roof top. Drag it out as long as possible and make it as sensational as you can.

The LSM is too busy sifting through Facebook and other social media, desperately trying to tie this guy to the Tea Party and exonerate Brian Ross.

JPeterman on July 20, 2012 at 8:34 PM

You know, I think the political angle is dead this time. It got quashed early. What I’ve thought is that this is THE SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER MOVIE this year and hundreds of millions have been invested in it already. The studio needs this movie to do well and I’m sure that behind the scenes, they are working with media outlets on silencing any negative publicity. They don’t want this to get political. They don’t want to offend or scare off moviegoers of any political persuasion. That’s why we have stories of theaters ‘beefing up security’ right now and not absurd stories about ‘civility’ as was the case after the Giffords shooting.

Bunch of “tweets” saying the killer was OWS. I know “tweets” aren’t much more reliable than ABC, but didn’t Pelosi, and Obama too, praise OWS? Also the killer’s mom is reported to have said the killer was upset about not getting a job, even though he had a masters degree, in the [Obama] economy, so isn’t this a good deal Obama’s fault?

What this tells me is that the moment ABC News found out who the shooter was, a researcher did a Google search “James Holmes Colorado Tea Party” and hit paydirt. Or so they thought. But what is it in the mindset of ABC News, other mainstream media outlets and liberals at large that they would immediately connect mass murder to a member of the local Tea Party?

What this tells me is that the moment ABC News found out who the shooter was, a researcher did a Google search “James Holmes Colorado Tea Party” and hit paydirt. Or so they thought. But what is it in the mindset of ABC News, other mainstream media outlets and liberals at large that they would immediately connect mass murder to a member of the local Tea Party?

idesign on July 20, 2012 at 8:46 PM

I caught a little of Glenn Beck this morning and Stu mentioned that too, that they would have had to have googled the guy’s name and tea party in the same search. If I were the tea party guy, I’d sue ABC’s a$$.

Romney later said, “We pray that the wounded will recover and that those who are grieving will know the nearness of god. Today, we feel not only a sense of grief, but perhaps also of helplessness, but there is something we can do. We can offer comfort to someone near us who is suffering and we can mourn with those who mourn in Colorado.”

You can’t simply ban guns in the US and wipe out gun violence- that would take a generation or longer.

bayam on July 20, 2012 at 8:13 PM

The NRA along with big corrupt business has hijacked our democracy. Our elected officials are scared to death of these two anti American infiltrators. May God help us all. Uppereastside on July 20, 2012 at 8:23 PM

Notice none of this is negotiable:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

The militia was made up of free citizens. It was not a standing army.
And citizens needs their weapons in order to defend themselves & Liberty.
It really isn’t that complicated.
I know since you grew up in a free society without any government or army trying to kill you or take away your stuff that it’s easy to forget the real reason this Amendment exists.
I suppose you reason that when a person is easily identifiable as being able to defend themselves that this somehow incites violence.
Perhaps you think if you disarm the citizenry that violence will just ‘go away’.
Obviously, only true morons really believe that, since humans are naturally violent toward each other.
Notice that in nature, the animals that are perceived as being strong & able to defend themselves aren’t usually messed with.
Your mentality is that of a baby lamb. You are too stupid to understand that people aren’t going to be nice to you bcs you don’t have a gun.
In fact, many people in this world only seem to understand one thing: strength.
And you should ask the Polish people how that getting disarmed worked out for them back in the WWII days.

The idea that acts of mass murder reflect Hollywood violence is absurd; you can’t get more violent than King Lear.

More moronicy.

In King Lear, the violence is not glorified. additionally, the audience to whom King Lear was originalonyextly addressed were bathed in a moral climate which gave context to that violence that present day audiences are no longer bathed in.

That’s why the pundits call it “senseless”. They have no way to evaluate this evil.

The most profound thing said all day. The world, as certainly we know it, has never passed a day without savages (sickos or not) performing their evil works. Outlaw it all you want, savagery will never cease while we are on this earth.

I caught a little of Glenn Beck this morning and Stu mentioned that too, that they would have had to have googled the guy’s name and tea party in the same search. If I were the tea party guy, I’d sue ABC’s a$$.

TxAnn56 on July 20, 2012 at 8:49 PM

He was interviewed today, said he received a number of death threats. It sounds like some lawyers are already on the case. I hope they go after Ross and ABC.

There are more than enough liberal hacks that would be more than happy to projectile vomit the same nonsense for a smaller salary given the opportunity.

The problem is ABC and all of the other alphabet networks that have utterly abandoned any pretense of objectivity in journalism.

They are advocates for the progressive cause, and all that that implies.

Think of what Disney has done with its broadcasting empire. The Disney Channel (having young daughters, I got to see this first hand) features programming that flies in the face of traditional familial structures, norms and mores.

Rare is the program where a nuclear family is featured, and even when an intact family is on the screen, the parental units are usually portrayed in a negative light. Some shows have situations where the parents are absent entirely.

This is no mistake, this is no accident. This is most definitely deliberate. They wish to advance a message based upon their own worldview.

And that world view is utterly in conflict with the traditional Judeo-Christian morals that underpin our society.

Unplug your cable box, take it back to your cable provider and proclaim I WILL NO LONGER BE LIED TO.

I mean, there’s so many murders with guns every day,” Bloomberg continued. “It’s just gotta stop. And instead of these two people, President [Barack] Obama and Governor [Mitt] Romney talking in broad things about, they want to make the world a better place. OK, tell us how. And this is a problem. No matter where you stand on the Second Amendment, no matter where you stand on guns, we have a right to hear from both of them, concretely, not just in generalities, specifically, what are they going to do about guns?

I didnt vote for Bloomberg however he is absolutely correct here. The NRA along with big corrupt business has hijacked our democracy. Our elected officials are scared to death of these two anti American infiltrators. May God help us all. Uppereastside on July 20, 2012 at 8:23 PM

I don’t know if there is anything more American than the NRA as for Bloomberg, he’s not going to be around for much longer. He’s going to have to find a new hobby, and new people to annoy.

They don’t want this to get political. They don’t want to offend or scare off moviegoers of any political persuasion. That’s why we have stories of theaters ‘beefing up security’ right now and not absurd stories about ‘civility’ as was the case after the Giffords shooting.

The idea that acts of mass murder reflect Hollywood violence is absurd; you can’t get more violent than King Lear.

More moronicy.

In King Lear, the violence is not glorified. additionally, the audience to whom King Lear was originalonyextly addressed were bathed in a moral climate which gave context to that violence that present day audiences are no longer bathed in.

That’s why the pundits call it “senseless”. They have no way to evaluate this evil.

Cleombrotus on July 20, 2012 at 8:53 PM

I would never suggest censorship for Hollywood, few conservatives would, but I would like to see some acceptance of partial responsibility on their part for our society’s desensitization to violence. You want to find what’s different from 1943 to today, there it is.

I would also like to see the liberals defend MY Second Amendment rights half as much as they defend THEIR First Amendment rights.

To a man, most of the punditry, at least on the Left, are secularists. They have no frame of reference so must resort to guesswork and it always falls within the framework of their humanistic worldview.

Problem is, we get the consequences.

Rio Linda Refugee on July 20, 2012 at 8:59 PM

Yup. It never stops them from pontificating to the rest of us. There is no humility there.

Well, I’m with MKH on this one. In an update on one of the earlier threads she mentioned that they aren’t getting specific about what they want to do in regards to gun control and that it’s an election year and they don’t have the stones.